


now i know

by HylianFishFood



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: AU for all of D1, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Gen, M/M, Rest assured every chapter has a very different arc
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-10
Updated: 2017-08-17
Packaged: 2018-12-13 18:50:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 18,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11766159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HylianFishFood/pseuds/HylianFishFood
Summary: CH1 - Jay traces the name on his palm, 'Benjamin Florian Bête', and dreams of freedom.CH2 - Mal has a first name on her pinky, 'Jane', and nothing else, and it scares and thrills her all at once.CH3 - Evie has the name of a princess on the small of her back, and she's never bothered to find out who.CH4 - Carlos, for as long as he's had his soulmark, has pretended not to have 'Chad Anastasius Charming' written on his shoulder.





	1. how it feels (to fall in love) - Jay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jay traces the name on his palm, 'Benjamin Florian Bête', and dreams of freedom.

Jay can’t decide if he hates Prince Benjamin, future king of Auradon. His father sure does, even more so when plans to crown the prince at the age of 16 are made public. 16, his father insists, is much too young to be ruling anything, and _Ben’s_ family shouldn’t be ruling at all. Jay just shrugs, because it’s not like they can do anything about it.

News outlets don’t mention Ben’s full name often, because it’s such a mouthful, so most people don’t know it. Jay knows it by heart, though, _Benjamin Florian Bête_ , knows it from hours of examining the words on his palm, of tracing them from memory with his fingers when his gloves are on. It’s frustrating, to say the least - Jay doesn’t _think_ he hates Ben. He feels like he should. But he can’t help but wish that, once Ben is king, he’ll find a way to get Jay out of there.

* * *

Jay’s wish is granted one day, and it’s crazy because he can’t believe it’s happening. He can’t believe that not only him, but his three best friends, get to go to _Auradon_. It’s insanely fairy-tale, but he hides his excitement with disdain. He’s glad their parents make them go, because he would’ve gone anyway, but it would’ve sucked without his squad.

He’s _not_ so psyched that they have to steal Fairy Godmother’s wand. But Mal and Evie and Carlos know his soulmark, something that no one else on the Isle, not even his father, knows. He’s sure he can talk them out of it. Jay thinks that they’ve earned their happy ending.

* * *

Stepping out of the limo to enter Auradon Prep is terrifying enough, not the Jay is about to admit it. Stepping out of the limo to enter Auradon Prep and meet _Future King_ _Benjamin Florian Bête?_ A million times more scary. He hadn’t talked about it in the limo on the way over, partly because talking about feelings is dumb and partly because he doesn’t want the driver eavesdropping, but Jay is worried about so many things. What if Ben doesn’t like him? What if it’s one-sided? What if he doesn’t like Ben? So many things could go wrong, and he hates all of them, and he hates himself for even worrying.

Ben radiates kindness, his movements are gentle but certain, and he beams at the four of them when they step out of the limo, unfazed by Carlos and Jay’s fight. He welcomes them with an apologetic tone in his voice, the ‘sorry I took so long’ implied behind his words. His gaze lingers on Jay, which Jay takes as an encouraging sign.

“Hello, foxy.” He says before he can stop himself (though, does he really want to?) and Ben’s reaction is immediate, he looks down with a soft grin and flushed cheeks, and, okay, Jay can work with this.

* * *

When Mal suggests that they steal the wand that night, Jay can’t help but feel a little betrayed. They just got there literally less than twenty-four hours ago, and she’s ready to leave? So, okay, _maybe_ he messes up the mission on purpose. He figured there would be some type of security system - it’s the most powerful magical item _ever_ , and he’s been stealing things since he was 4. If Captain Hook cares enough about his shitty hook variations to set up a makeshift alarm (not that it kept Jay out), there’s no way that this wand isn’t protected by the finest technology money can buy.

He feels a little bad at their hurried escape, they come uncomfortably close to being caught, but hey, Mal should’ve thought about his situation first.

* * *

Tourney is _fun_. Jay hasn’t had a real opportunity to release his stress in the short time they’ve been on Auradon, because normally he got his adrenaline boost from running away from someone on the Isle before they caught him stealing. Everyone in Auradon is so easy to steal from, like they’ve never had anything taken from them. Which is probably true. But there’s no thrill of the escape, no fighting to keep his claims, and Jay sort of misses it.

Tourney? Tourney solves that. His aggression is encouraged, instead of shunned, and he’s naturally good at it. It’s kind of like stealing - steal the ball, steal the shot, steal the game from the other team. Except the sport itself has rules, which Jay doesn’t know, so Coach asks for volunteers to teach him. Ben volunteers so fast Jay’s head spins.

Carlos isn’t so good at it. Coach assigns Chad to help him out, and Carlos grumbles all the way back to their dorm. Jay feels bad, he’ll steal some chocolate for Carlos later, but not everyone can have talent like him.

* * *

Jay is only a little nervous about hanging out with Ben, because he doesn’t get nervous. Well, not obviously nervous. Evie and Carlos get nervous _for_ him, and they keep approaching him with outfit ideas and romantic suggestions, which he kinda appreciates. Mal, on the other hand, tells Jay that he can use this opportunity to figure out how to take advantage of their situation.

“I can brew you a love potion.” She suggests once while they’re hanging out, going through his haul for that day. “And then getting the wand will be 100% easier.”

“No thanks.” He responds, picking up a gold bracelet he took from Rapunzel’s daughter. “Hey, you think Evie will like this?”

She rolls her eyes, but takes the bracelet. “Probably.”

* * *

Jay was somewhat under the impression that Ben’s “nice guy” persona had to be an act. There was no way Ben was actually that nice when he wasn’t welcoming a group of villain kids in front of a literal fairy godmother or being a good teammate in front of a coach. So it’s a very pleasant surprise when Ben, unaccompanied by any obvious reason to be falsely kind, treats Jay with the same gentle care in private.

And damn, Jay is trying to learn and understand these rules, because he does want to be good at tourney, but it’s really hard when Ben is looking at him like he’s about to vanish into thin air. Like he’s something to be cherished.

“Okay, so, I can’t scream at people when I run at them?” Jay asks, trying to lighten the mood a little, because he’s a bit freaked out. “‘Cause this whole sport seems like it would be more fun if I could scream at people.”

Ben laughs. “No, you can’t do that. It counts as interference.” Then, softer. “I apologize if I’m distracted. I can’t believe you’re here.”

That draws Jay’s attention. He wasn’t sure if they were gonna ignore the soulmate thing, if they were even _allowed_ to be soulmates. “I can’t either.” He tests the waters. “Thanks for getting us out of there.”

Ben offers a sheepish grin. “I have to admit, my reason for getting _you_ off the Isle is not entirely unselfish.”

Jay’s heart comes to a screeching halt, and a million explanations rush through his head. “Yeah?” He asks, tentatively, frightened and excited all at once.

Ben takes his hands, and Jay feels a shock go through his entire body. No one outside of his friend group has ever been this nice to him without a reason, been anything but crass or demanding. Ben then turns over the hand that Jay’s soulmark is on, and places his fingertips on Jay’s glove.

“Your soulmark should be here, right? Where I shook your hand.” He removes his hand from Jay’s and points to his own chest. “Mine is here. Where you sort of punched me. I appreciate that, by the way, it’s really easy to cover up. The press haven’t gotten their hands on it.”

Okay, this is all happening. Jay doesn’t think he can breathe. Ben notices his discomfort, and immediately frowns, dropping Jay’s hand. “Hey, it’s fine if you don’t want to talk about this. If I’m going to fast, or-”

“This is fine!” Jay interrupts, and _gods_ this is the least suave he’s ever been. “This is fine.” He repeats. He takes a deep breath, he has to get control of himself. Ben patiently waits, _how is he so nice, no one is that nice,_ and Jay feels like he can talk again. “I just, I just didn’t think this was gonna happen, that’s all.”

“You didn’t think this would happen today?” Ben grins, and Jay can see now that Ben is nervous too. That makes him feel a little better.

“I didn’t think this would happen _ever_ , dude.” He really didn’t - you don’t spend the majority of your life on the Isle without giving up all hope of ever leaving.

“I’m sorry it took so long.” Ben says, guilty, and that’s the last thing Jay wants.

Jay shrugs. “Well, I’m here now.”

“Yeah.” Ben responds, beaming, and it’s not witty or romantic at all, but Jay adores it all the same.

* * *

They’re dating now, and Jay announces the news to his friends casually, but his heart is swelling with pride. Evie coos and Carlos jokingly says he’s jealous and Mal huffs, and Jay wants them all to have what he has, the knowledge that there’s another person who completes him, who loves him, who has his name on their chest and who wants it there. Evie and Mal have marks, but Evie has the name of a princess, not a prince, scrawled on her back, and Mal has a singular _‘Jane’_ written in tiny font on her pinky, and he doesn’t know if either of them want to chase that. Carlos has never mentioned having a mark, and it hurts Jay’s head to think about, because if anyone deserves a name, it’s Carlos.

“I’ve been thinking about dating Chad.” Evie hums. Out of the corner of his eye, Jay sees Carlos tense up for a second, but it’s gone and he doesn’t know if he imagined it.

“You should.” Carlos says, so Jay must have imagined his reaction. “If you can deal with him. He had to help me with tourney, and it was the worst hour of my life.”

* * *

Ben doesn’t go public with their relationship, not because he’s ashamed, but because Jay asks him not to. He doesn’t want the attention, he doesn’t want Ben to get that attention, because he’s confident most of it will be negative. Jay is perfectly content with glances during class, hands held under tables, walks in the woods when they have free time. Ben wants to shout his love off every building, and Jay is flattered, but this feels more natural, and Ben respects that.

Every other major display of affection in Jay’s life has been an act, to get something or to fool someone. So he wants this to be a secret, to be purely theirs, to exist solely for him and Ben.

Ben is actually interested in Jay, which is very weird to deal with. He asks about Jay’s interests (stealing), hobbies (tourney), and dreams (...Ben), and he listens like it’s something to care about. Jay returns the fascination, and he hears about how Ben is worried to become king, happy that everything is going so well with Jay fitting in, anxious to bring over other kids but willing to do so. Ben buys things for him, nothing too big, but things that feel big anyway, things like new gloves and a skateboard and a scarf, and Jay accepts them and feels guilty but also feels loved. Ben expresses discomfort at Jay stealing things, so Jay cuts it down a little, doesn’t steal anything too big or too fancy.

He wants to give Ben something, though, and he’s only ever been good at stealing things, not making them. Ben assures him that it’s fine, that Jay being there is enough, but it still feels weird. He gets help from Evie (when she has time, her hands are full with Chad’s requests, that dick) and Carlos (who has found himself with a lot of free time, recently), and with their help he makes Ben a leather jacket, to match his squad’s.

Jay isn’t nervous when he presents the gift (that’s a lie, his heart is beating out of his chest), and he feels a sudden urge to defend it when Ben holds it up to get a good look at it. It’s dark blue, and studded, and there’s a patch of the royal crest on it, and it seemed like a good idea at the time. Ben smiles and Jay wishes he could give him the world, give him more than a jacket.

“Just, ‘cause, y’know, I have one and my friends have one and I figured my boyfriend should have one too,” He says, trying to play it casual. “It’s fine if you don’t wear it, it’s kinda an Isle thing.”

“I love it.” Ben says, earnestly, and Jay doesn’t think he’s imagining the watery quality of Ben’s eyes. “I’ll wear it all the time.” And Jay’s heart bursts open, and he knows right then and there that, no matter what Mal wants, he can’t betray Ben.

* * *

Honestly, Jay should have expected that Ben would’ve dropped the ball at some point. Considering how long Ben didn’t tell people about them, it made sense that it would happen after a tourney game, when Jay and Carlos had saved their team from a loss and emotions were already high. Of course Ben, romantic, driven by his emotions Ben, would decide that was the appropriate time to have his first kiss with Jay. It’s fiery and filled with passion, but Ben pulls back almost regretfully, apologies already forming.

“I’m really sorry, I totally forgot-” But Jay shuts him up with another kiss, because, fuck it, they have to do this sometime. Ben practically melts into him, and Jay could really get used to this. For five seconds, everything is perfect.

Then they pull away to find that Audrey and Chad are kissing, too. Gods, Evie is gonna be so heartbroken, and Jay glances over at her to find that she’s not upset, but angry. This is worse, because Evie never goes to anger as her first reaction, something else must have happened.

“Sorry.” He whispers to Ben. “I just, y’know.”

“It’s fine.” Ben says, and he looks as confused as Jay feels. “I don’t know why Chad and Audrey are doing this, they aren’t...they don’t like each other. Romantically.”

Jay shrugs, because it sure looks like they do, and runs off to comfort Evie.

* * *

Four things happen after that game.

First - Evie announces to Jay and Carlos, on the stands, her voice quaking like Jay has never heard, that Chad is an idiot and she could care less what he does, she’s going to go after her prin _cess_ , no matter what her mother says. And she’s still angry, but she’s glad to be rid of Chad, and Jay is proud of her.

Second - Carlos, who changes later than everyone else (Carlos is a little wary of others, so Jay understands) comes back from the locker room with tears streaming down his face and he won’t talk to anyone. Jay and Evie spend hours trying to get him to talk, but it’s Mal who he breaks down for. She tells Jay that Carlos didn’t mention names or anything too identifying, but that maybe they were wrong about him being unmarked.

Third - Mal doesn’t apologize to Jay, but she promises that if she goes through with the evil wand plot, she’ll do everything in her power to keep Ben safe. It’s an empty promise, but Jay knows how much it means for Mal to at least say it, so he accepts it wholeheartedly.

Fourth - Photos go up of him and Ben kissing. It’s slow, at first, but suddenly there’s thinkpieces and clickbait headlines everywhere, and Jay calls Ben after stress reading seven articles because these people think he’s manipulated Ben into something disingenuous and dangerous, maybe he is bad for Ben, maybe he doesn’t deserve this, but Ben tells him that it’s okay and that he’ll show the press his soulmark tomorrow, if that’s what it takes, that Jay is going to be his date for Ben’s coronation and that it’s going to be perfect no matter what anyone says. And Jay isn’t afraid to admit to Ben that he’s scared about what could happen, but he doesn’t tell Ben what Mal might do, because he’s scared about what that means for Mal, and damn it, he just wants everything to work out, the weight of the situation is pressing him into the ground so hard he can’t breathe, can’t do anything but watch.

* * *

Carlos suddenly has a dog, and he refuses to explain how he got it or why he still has it, but he’s somehow both angry and flustered about whatever happened. Jay has no fucking idea why Auradon is like this.

* * *

Family Day is the worst thing Jay has ever had to attend. Mal doesn’t come, her specialty is skipping school events, but Carlos and Evie do. Evie says that, if she’s going to be dating a prin _cess_ , she should probably learn how Auradonian royals act - Carlos just comes because he has nothing else to do, but he’s on edge the entire time. He keeps staring off in the distance, and he won’t answer Jay when Jay asks what he’s thinking about, which is weird.

Jay has to meet Ben’s parents. Jay has to explain to Ben’s parents that - yes, Jay has Ben’s name on the palm of his hand, no, this isn’t a long con, yes, he cares very deeply for their son, no, his father is not encouraging him to marry into the royal family. Belle and Adam are skeptical, to say the least, and Jay fakes a grin but inside he’s fuming. Why can’t people take him at his word, he hasn’t done anything to Ben or to Auradon, holy shit it is frustrating.

Evie doesn’t cause any trouble, but Carlos and Chad end up getting into a screaming match out of literally fucking nowhere (and Jay can’t work out what the subject is or what caused it or why either of them even care), so Ben has to deal with that and Jay has to deal with it too, trying to ignore the judgemental gazes of the students and parents around them, because he’s never cared about other people’s opinions until now, why _now_?

Carlos spends the rest of the day sulking in their room and Evie spends the rest of the day trying to take her mind off everything by designing clothes and Mal spends the rest of the day doing who-knows-what and Jay spends the rest of the day panicking about the coronation ahead.

* * *

Jay has Evie design his outfit, because she’s been planning it since they got there, she deserves the exposure, and he knows that if left to his own devices he’ll show up in leather. Evie is thrilled, she ends up designing everyone an outfit, and when she presents her complete product to Jay he’s so proud of her. She lets him keep the leather, but molds it into a top that is somehow flattering and elegant and _him_ all at once. The pants are dressy and boring, but she gives him four bracelets that all have different colored gems on them - “One for each of us,” she says. “Because we are with you all the way.”

And, damn, he tears up a little.

He wears his hair up because it’s nicer that way, and he forgets that normally he doesn’t do that, because Ben is surprised and flushed, maybe he should wear it like this more often. He gets into this giant, fancy carriage and never in his wildest dreams has he ever imagined that this would happen to him.

Ben is...really nervous about being king. Which Jay has known the whole time, because Ben freaks out about it twice a day, but the reality of it must be settling in because Ben is _scared_. Jay doesn’t know what to say, so he tells the truth - that Ben is going to be an amazing king because he holds so much empathy for his people, _all_ his people, and that without Ben there would be no hope for the kids on the Isle but he’s here so there is, and that Jay will be by his side through all of this, no matter what happens.

Ben gets choked up and Jay is a little embarrassed about it, but Ben assures him that it’s fine and that Jay said all the right things and that Ben loves him. Which, okay, now _Jay_ is choked up, he didn’t realize coronation was going to be this _emotional_. Ben pulls a small box out of his pocket, with Evie’s design logo on the front, and Jay opens it to find another bracelet, clearly meant to represent Ben. He lifts it up, smiling softly.

“It’s tradition to present your significant other with your ring,” Ben starts to explain, but he grins. “Except, we aren’t very traditional, are we?”

“I don’t know if I have enough jewelry on,” Jay jokes, but he loves it, he’s sure Ben can tell because Jay puts the bracelet on immediately.

* * *

Watching Ben get crowned as the king is definitely one of the highlights of Jay’s life. He’s so proud of Ben, and when Ben so earnestly swears to govern Auradon justly and fairly, Jay swells with pride and love for this incredible boy, this now king, who he is _soulmates_ with. Jay has never been one to plan anything, but he plans to live his life with Ben, and it feels _good_.

And then, out of nowhere, Jane grabs the wand. And Jay’s world falls apart - did Mal get to her? Is this rogue behavior? _Is she going to hurt Ben?_ Years of living in fear kick in, and before he knows it he’s beside Ben, grabbing him and pulling him to the ground, hoping that this will be enough to keep him safe, keep them safe, hoping that Jane doesn’t have any dark intentions. She’s screaming something about wanting a soulmate, tears streaming down her face, but it’s evident that she doesn’t know she’s doing, magic sparking, uncontrolled, _alive_. Fairy Godmother is trying to get her daughter under control, but the room is panicked and loud, and no one knows what to do.

Jay scans the room, desperately, looking for a way out. He sees Carlos and Evie, who look just as scared as him, and at least it’s relieving to know they weren’t a part of this. Mal - Mal is storming up to Jane, and Jay’s heartbeat is so loud in his own ears that he can’t hear what she’s saying, but she’s crying, too, and oh, gods, this better not be a ploy. Ben makes a move to get up, but Jay tightens his grip, because Ben is _not_ going to die on his watch. Mal has the wand, and Jay thinks that maybe it’s safe, but -

But there’s a chilling howl of laughter, and, from a cloud of purple smoke, Maleficent appears in the middle of the room. She snaps her fingers at Mal, but _Mal doesn’t move_ , and Jay knows he has to do something to help her. He whispers to Ben to stay down, no matter what, and then he stands up and runs over in front of Mal, planting his feet and glaring at Maleficent. She is not going to ruin everything, because they have a life here, a life where they aren’t afraid of their parents or their feelings or of falling asleep or of waking up. Maleficent snarls at him, and starts walking closer. He feels Mal trembling behind him, but Mal still has the wand, and he knows she can do this, he knows it.

There’s movement behind him, and he glances back to find that Evie and Carlos have joined Mal, standing on either side of her. He is so grateful to be friends with them, so grateful that they are united together in this stand of defiance - Mal steps up and Jay lets her, because this is her mom and the closure she needs.

“You were wrong, Mom,” Mal says, and she’s still crying, but the tears aren’t choking and desperate, they’re silent, and her voice is steady as she looks at her mother. “You were wrong about friends and love and everything - you told me those things were worthless.”

“And they are.” Maleficent responds, and Jay has never been scared of her like this before, here, where she has power and control and commands respect, but he stands strong.

“They aren’t! Mommy, I have a soulmate and I love her, and I love my friends and they love me and each other and that’s why you won’t win, because no one is going to protect you when you threaten the people they love.” Mal’s voice gets faster with every word she says, but it doesn’t lessen the impact of her words, and Maleficent tilts her head, confused. “And, Mom, I love you, and I wish that you loved me, because it wasn’t fear that made me follow you, or loyalty, it was love! And if you knew that, you could be so much more, and I wish that you were.”

Jay nearly cries. He’s felt more emotions in this one day then he probably has in his entire life, but Mal is right, she’s so _right_. He puts his hand on her shoulder, and Evie grabs Mal’s hand, and Carlos grabs Jay’s hand, and Maleficent lunges at them so fast he thinks _this is it_ -

But Mal did something, he’s not sure what, but Maleficent suddenly isn’t there and he looks to the ground and sees a lizard. Well. That’s weird. He looks at Evie and Mal and Carlos and - Mal is laughing through her tears, Evie is doing the same, Carlos is offering a shaky smirk but he’s holding back tears too, Jay can sense it. He initiates a group hug, and it has been far too long since they’ve done this, all been in a room together and had nothing to hide or worry about. He’s missed this, missed them. He doesn’t want to let go, but he does, because they’ll always be there for him and there’s plenty more hugs in his future.

When he pulls away, Ben is there next to him, waiting, and Jay is somehow nervous that this has ruined things beyond repair, but Ben just grabs Jay and pulls him into a kiss. It’s like fireworks go off, and Jay knows that’s cheesy and cliche but it’s true because he’s so happy. Ben pulls away and whispers, placing a hand on Jay’s cheek, that he’s so proud of Jay, that Jay was so brave, and Jay says back “What the fuck type of a boyfriend would I be if I didn’t protect my soulmate?”, and at this point they’re both crying and Jay can’t even find it in himself to be self-conscious because, hey, this is love, right? And Jay knows that it's love, knows it in how Ben treats Jay like the stars and Jay sees Ben as the moon, knows it in how they have rescued and will continue to rescue each other, knows in his bones that he will love _King_ Benjamin Florian Bête for the rest of his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next - it feels (like falling apart) - Mal  
> SONG: Now I Know - July Talk  
> @ feltgoodinc on tumblr / this is not crossposted on ffn
> 
> This chapter is very romantic and sappy bc, cmon, they deserve it. The fic itself is different perspectives of the days over which the fic takes place, focusing on the relationships that develop in that time. Next is Mal, because I mention in this first chapter who her soulmate actually is lol. Gotta get that anticipation!
> 
> Comments greatly appreciated! This is a new writing style for me, lol.


	2. it feels (like falling apart) - Mal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mal has a first name on her pinky, 'Jane', and nothing else, and it scares and thrills her all at once.

Mal has heard that love is a weakness her whole life. Mainly from her mother, who drills it into Mal’s head so many times Mal doesn’t think it will ever leave, but in passing from a few other villains, too. Mal really wants to believe this, so badly with every fiber of her being. But love can’t be a weakness, because doesn’t true love always win? If love is useless, and not a tool to be used, then why does her mother withholding love for her feel so bad? Why is it dangled in front of her like a prize that she can earn if she just tries hard enough? And why does she even want it?

It doesn’t add up. But to voice these doubts would be to doubt her mother, and Mal is not about to do that.

* * *

The name appears on her pinky, of all places, and Mal has to ask Evie for concealer, because she is _not_ giving up fingerless gloves. The name is tiny enough that she usually doesn’t have to cover it, but she always does around her mother, because that mark is a reminder of the human side of her, a reminder of the only mistake her mom had ever made.

 _‘Jane’_. Right there on her finger, no last or middle name, just Jane. Mal didn’t know if this was a side effect of being half-fae, or if Jane only had a first name, but it’s not like there’s anyone she can ask. She’s uncharacteristically defensive of the mark, sort of proud of it. It’s not the name of a future king, like Jay has, but it’s something, and it’s real, and it reminds her that she’s more than her mother’s lackey.

* * *

There’s no Jane on the Isle, so that means Jane lives in Auradon. And Mal hates it, she wants to know so badly what it is about Jane that is special, special to Mal specifically.

Uma tries to join their gang. Uma, who has two soulmarks - _Gil Gaston le Fou_ scrawled in giant letters on one arm and _Harry Morogh Hook_ in tinier cursive on the other. Uma, who has two full names of two people who both live here and who both love her back. And all Mal has is a first name on her pinky.

Mal turns her away. She isn’t jealous. She _isn’t._

* * *

Mal gets to go to Auradon, and Maleficent makes sure that Mal knows that it’s not an escape. She tells her that the real purpose is for Mal to get Fairy Godmother’s wand, and even though Mal knows her mom can’t get through the barrier and force her to follow through, she listens. She doesn’t want to disappoint her mom, make her regret Mal’s existence more than she already does.

Jay and Evie might take a little convincing, but Mal was going to get that wand, one way or another.

* * *

Auradon is sickeningly good, and Ben is sickeningly nice. None of it seems real, and Mal can’t wait until they’re all back on the Isle where they belong. Jay needs to stop following his instincts and stop getting attached, because it’s gonna come back to bite him when they let Auradon burn. Why isn't he _listening_ to her?

But...Mal meets Jane a day after they get to Auradon, and she doesn’t tell anyone, not even Evie (Evie, who shared her mark with Mal, Evie, who doesn’t know what it says), because Mal is scared. Jane is anxious, hesitant, frightened - qualities that Mal has detested for her whole life. But Jane, Jane is cute despite and/or because of these same qualities, and Mal doesn’t know why.

It’s infuriating. She thought that knowing who Jane was would at least explain things. All it’s done is made things worse.

* * *

Jay tells them that he and Ben are dating, and it annoys Mal to no end. Jay shouldn’t be dating the enemy - what the fuck does he think is going to happen, when they get the wand? She at least wishes he would use his unique position for their advantage, but no, Jay gets sappy when she mentions Ben, and it unsettles her. Jay is bad to the bone, he shouldn’t be making heart eyes at Prince Benjamin.

To make things worse, Evie says that she’s going to try and date Chad. Mal almost blurts out Evie’s real soulmate right then and there, because Evie deserves to know and Evie shouldn’t even be thinking about dating, they have a mission. But she keeps quiet, because Evie is like her - she just wants to impress her mom, and Mal can’t fault her for that.

* * *

Mal has to take the whole plan into her own hands, because no one really wants to have anything to do with it. Carlos and Evie feel guilty, because Jay is happy, happier than they ever saw him on the Isle. Mal feels a tiny bit of guilt, but it’s overshadowed by her responsibility to her mother. So she presses on, and decides that if she can’t get to Ben, she can get to Jane instead.

Jane, the daughter of the Fairy Godmother, must have some influence. So Mal starts wearing concealer on her mark all the time. So Mal does Jane’s hair and implies that Jane is ugly (when the opposite is so blindingly clear), and Jane believes her to a fault. So Jane hangs out with her and Evie and one day Jane makes her pinky promise that they’ll be friends forever. It’s childish and stupid and Mal promises anyway, her pinky tingling when she pulls away, and Jane pulls her right back into a hug.

Mal doesn’t see anything on Jane’s pinky, and she desperately racks her brain, trying to recall other instances where Mal could have touched Jane, and comes up empty.

* * *

Jay gets Ben a _jacket_. Jay deliberately goes behind her back and gets Ben a jacket and welcomes him into their squad and Mal is pissed, because she’s the leader and they should be trying to get the wand but it’s just _her,_ talking to a girl with self esteem issues and no last name. She’s pissed because Jay is happy, and pissed because Evie isn’t, Carlos isn’t, she isn’t, and she just wants to go home.

Jay gets mad at her when she yells at him for it, yelling right back, and he asks why she’s still following Maleficent anyway, because they’re  _safe_ here, their parents can’t get them, Ben can protect them.

And Mal screams right back that just because they’re safe now doesn’t mean they’re safe forever, and that just because Ben got the off the Isle doesn’t erase the fact that they grew up there, had to survive there, and Jay gets a steely, enraged look on his face that she hasn’t seen in years and he storms out and Mal doesn’t even care because she’s right, isn’t she?

Isn't she?

* * *

It’s 1:00 AM and Mal is baking the cookies and she doesn’t know why. It’s 1:00 AM and Mal has snuck into the kitchens to make a love potion to give to Jane, because if Jane-as-a-friend is trying to her best to let Mal see the wand, Jane-as-a-girlfriend would try a hundred times harder, right? It’s 1:00 AM and Mal is thinking about her soulmark, and how she didn’t see one on Jane, and how maybe that’s a fae thing, maybe that’s not going to ruin anything, and thinking that’s stupid, because this isn’t about whether Jane loves her, love is weak and it doesn’t mean anything and Mal is doing this for her mom, so mom will be proud of her and - and not love her, but respect her. It’s 1:00 AM and Mal misses her friends, misses Jay and Evie and Carlos, and she wishes they were back on the Isle where there weren’t feelings to deal with or soulmarks to cry over.

It’s 1:00 AM and the tears of human sadness that Mal uses are her own.

* * *

Before Mal gives Jane the cookies, she takes an emotional risk, and decides to ask about Jane’s soulmark. Because, hey, maybe she won’t need the cookies, right? That’s dumb, she immediately chastises, because the cookies will give Jane more emotional dependency on Mal, and that’s what she needs for the plan, not love or whatever the fuck these Auradon kids believe in.

But she still asks.

Jane says - “Well, my mom didn’t actually have me, she made me from magic. Really! I don't know why she couldn't have at least made me pretty.”

Jane says - “Well, mom says that she couldn’t just give me a soulmark, because then it wouldn’t be accurate, because that type of magic is impossible to replicate.”

Jane says - “Well, I figure that in some stories, humans have soulmarks of fairies, right? So maybe if I’m good enough and pretty enough, someone will have my name and I can be happy.”

Jane cries - “You’re such a good friend, Mal, I was worried the villain kids would be mean but everyone’s been so nice and I’m really glad I met you.”

Mal listens, and her heart breaks, and when it's her turn Mal says - “Aw, no problem! I’m sure it will all work out. Hey, do you want a cookie?”

* * *

The cookies don’t work. The cookies don’t _work._ The cookies _don’t work_.

Mal ignores Evie’s concern and ignores Jay’s questions and Carlos’ breakdowns and she especially, _especially_ ignores Jane, because what the fuck? What the fuck?

Mal spends hours and hours pouring over books, trying to determine what went wrong. The options are: Mal messed up somehow (impossible, that means she’s a failure and she isn’t), Jane is unaffected because she’s fae, specifically the daughter of a very powerful fae (possible, checked for reference), Jane is unaffected because she’s literally made of magic and you can’t spell her (impossible, Mal did her hair), Jane already loves Mal (unrealistic, scratch that, impossible) and Mal is freaking out because how the fuck is she supposed to get the wand now?

Jane keeps coming to the dorm room and Mal keeps hissing at Evie to tell her to go away, to tell Jane that Mal isn’t here, and Evie listens, sadly asking Mal if she wants to talk and resigning herself to the answer being no. Mal closes herself off, pushes Jane out of her mind, and she just needs to figure out how she’s going to pull off this plan and everything will be okay.

* * *

She doesn’t go to any of the tourney games, because they’re loud and everyone smells like socks and she has better things to be doing, but this specific one that she skips is apparently host to every event ever. Evie comes back and fumes over Chad and Audrey, and tells Mal that she’s done with boys, not because she’s hurt by Chad or anything, but because she just doesn’t _like_ them. Mal is proud and worried all at once, because what will Evie’s mother think, but Evie just tilts her head and tells Mal that they don’t need to worry about their parents here.

Carlos comes back later, crying for no discernible reason and freaking their friends out. He ends up sharing with Mal that he’s just so stressed about everything and he's just been feeling sort of alone lately - not that he thinks it's anyone's fault - and on top of that he has to deal with his shitty soulm-. He cuts himself off and blushes and Mal is surprised because wasn’t Carlos unmarked? He thanks her for listening and kicks her out.

Mal tells Jay what happened, because he’s been relegated back to their room while Carlos has a breakdown in the one he shares with Jay, and she knows he’s worried. He hums thoughtfully and she takes the opportunity to tell him that, no matter what, she won’t let her mother hurt Ben. It’s not a promise she knows if she can keep, but it’s one she hopes she’ll be able to.

* * *

She skips Family Day, because why the fuck should she go? Like, who is she going to meet? Her family isn’t there, her mom isn’t present, so she would have to watch a bunch of other kids hang out with their parents, who actually love them. Weird, and no thanks. She spends her time trying to work out how to get the wand, because coronation is right ahead of them, and she’s coming up empty.

She feels bad about ignoring her friends, about ignoring Jane, but from the way Evie stress-sows when she comes back, Family Day didn’t go that well. Mal thinks maybe her friends should start skipping school events, too, because they never seem to have much fun.

* * *

Coronation comes and Mal is wholeheartedly, completely, desperately unprepared. In short, there’s no way to get the wand beyond running up to Fairy Godmother and hoping that no one stops her. If only Jay wasn’t so stupidly in love, maybe she wouldn’t have to do this whole thing herself.

Though - it is sweet. Jay is so excited when she sees him that morning, and for the first time she’s almost relieved she couldn’t find a way to get the wand. When she sees him later, on the carriage, it’s like watching the end of a fairytale and she wonders why she was afraid to let him have this, because he’s one of her best friends and he loves this boy and she wants him to be happy, she really does. She wants to talk to Jane, to apologize for how she’s been, to tell her that she has her name written in tiny letters on her pinky, and that even if it’s a different Jane, somehow, Mal wouldn’t care because she and Jane are so alike that it might as well be them.

She’ll talk to Jane after coronation. Jane deserves that.

* * *

Mal knows that Ben’s crowning is supposed to be emotionally provoking and all but she literally is unable to focus. Something in her (she knows exactly what part, the part that just wants her mom to love her) keeps telling her to bolt down the aisle and grab the wand, take what she can and leave no prisoners. She stifles it, tries to focus on something else, and finds that she cannot. But she sits still, does not move, and then -

 _Jane takes the wand_. And Mal’s heart jumps into her throat, because there’s no way Jane _knows_. She’s pleased and panicked, because did Jane do this for her, does Jane know the consequences?   
  
And then Jane sobs, makeup ruined and dignity absent, “I just want to be pretty! I just want a soulmate! I just wa-” and she interrupts herself with a choked hiccup, and Mal realizes.

Jane isn’t doing this _for_ her - Jane is doing this _because_ of her. And it’s the worst feeling in the world, she’s never felt bad about hurting anyone before, why did she ever imply that Jane was anything less than gorgeous, anything less than - well, not perfect, but Jane shouldn’t have to be perfect to feel valued, how fucked up is that? Mal empathizes with her so much, in that moment, because she’s been there, is there, and she needs to fix this.

She is standing up before she realizes it, running over to Jane, and Jane looks at her with a wild, hysteric glint, but she’s terrified, she doesn’t know what she’s doing and Mal can see without a doubt that she just wants _help_.

“Jane,” Mal starts, trying to keep her voice as confident and comforting and earnest as she can. “You don’t need to change anything about yourself, you never have.”

Jane wipes her face with her free hand, smudging her already ruined mascara. “Why do you c-care? You’ve ignored me for the past week, and I don’t even know what I _did_.”

“You didn’t do anything, Jane! That’s my fault, I was a bad friend, and I regret it so much.” Mal takes a step closer, and another, and she’s right in front of Jane now. The words roll out of her mouth and Mal knows what to say because what Jane needs to hear is everything Mal has needed to hear for her entire life. “You don’t need to earn love, you should already have it, you do already have it, in your friends and in your family and in me.” She feels herself tear up too, trying to get the last words out before it’s too late. “I’m sorry, I’m so so sorry Jane, I’m-”

Jane thrusts the wand into Mal’s hands and sinks to the ground, sobbing, and Mal wants nothing more than to comfort Jane until Jane knows that she’s amazing and has no doubt about her value. But she can’t because a familiar voice coughs from behind her, and she turns around to see her mom, oh gods, but she holds the wand tighter and stands her ground. She’s afraid that she’ll have to do this alone, and she doesn’t think she’ll be able to, but suddenly Jay and Evie and Carlos are there, her friends, her protectors.

So she looks at her mom and tells her exactly what’s been on her mind for the past 16 years of her life. It’s incredible, like a weight has been lifted from her body, but it’s bittersweet because she knows that this isn’t going to change her mom’s mind about anything. Maleficent lunges at them, at her daughter, and Mal desperately points the wand and wishes with all her heart that her mom couldn’t hurt them, couldn’t hurt anyone, and her mom transforms into a lizard and shrinks to the size of the love in her heart.

It’s upsetting, but Mal hopes that the fact her mother is at least something means that maybe, just a little, she loved Mal. But she doesn’t have time to reflect, because Jay pulls them all into a bear hug and she doesn’t even mind. Why was she isolating herself from her friends again, her friends who just want the best for her, her friends who she loves? She doesn’t know, it’s dumb, and she’s glad that they didn’t leave her to her own devices. There’s a gap that wasn’t there before, but she knows it’s there and knows it’s reparable, and that’s enough.

They break off because come on, they can’t be sappy for _too_ long, they have a reputation to maintain. Mal walks over to Jane, still on the floor, eyes wide and bright and face covered in the remnants of her contour, and she helps her up. Jane gives a nervous laugh, and Mal rubs the concealer on her pinky off and shows it to Jane. Jane gasps and wraps Mal into the tightest hug Mal has ever been a part of, but it’s not uncomfortable, just soothing. Mal knows that they have a lot to talk about, after all this, a lot of issues to work through, but she’s never been more excited because Jane is special and Mal knows it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next - never wanted something more - Evie  
> SONG: Now I Know - July Talk  
> @ feltgoodinc on tumblr / this is not crossposted on ffn
> 
> I like this chapter tbh? I wasn't fond of Jane or Mal when I started this chapter, but the more I wrote it the more I realized how similar they were and basically I love them. Next is Evie, and her soulmate is probably pretty obvious lol but I try.


	3. never wanted something more - Evie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evie has the name of a princess on the small of her back, and she's never bothered to find out who.

Evie, since the day she found out about them, has eagerly awaited her soulmark. She has a calendar where she totals how long it’s been since she started waiting, a notebook where she tries to calculate how much longer it will be until it shows up, another notebook where she writes who she hopes and dreams her soulmate be. The last notebook slowly becomes a collection of what her mother hopes her soulmate will have - long, perfect hair (crossed out, replaced with ‘castle’), beautiful smile (crossed out, replaced with ‘land’), kind and loving (crossed out, replaced with ‘wealth’). Evie thinks her soulmate should be someone who loves her, but her mom thinks her soulmate should be a prince, and over time, Evie does too.

* * *

One day, out of nowhere, she feels a tickling on the small of her back, like someone is signing their name. She stops what she’s doing and immediately runs to find her mom, who she begs to read the name on her back.

Her mom excitedly skims the name on her back, and Evie senses something is wrong, she feels her mom tense up behind her.

“What is it?” She asks, nervous that she’s let down her mother.

“Well, soulmarks aren’t always right.” Her mom finally says, deliberately not sharing the name with Evie.

Evie, though she knows she shouldn't, seeks out Mal later. “Don’t tell me the name.” She implores, raising up the back of the shirt. “Just tell me if it’s a royal last name.”

Mal stares at the name for a while, and she finally speaks. “It’s definitely royalty.” She confirms, and now Evie is mad, because what the fuck? But before Evie can voice her confusion, Mal speaks again. “It’s a prin _cess_ name, Evie.”

Oh.

* * *

Evie has never actually seen her soulmark herself - she’s always dreamed about admiring her mark, knowing it like she knows the back of her hand, or her face. But it’s on her back, and while she could see it if she angled enough mirrors and tried hard enough, she doesn’t want to. To look at it makes it real, and to make it real is to let down her mother. So she pretends it isn't there, and touches the small of her back when she’s alone or nervous.

She wishes she had Jay’s mark (the mark of a king) or no mark at all like Carlos (where she could at least make her own destiny). But she doesn’t - she has the name of a prin _cess_ on her back, and she will never look at it.

* * *

Getting to go to Auradon is the best thing that ever happens to her. If she knew the name of the prin _cess_ who exists only on the small of her back, she might be nervous, but she doesn’t, so it’s okay. There’s plenty of princes in Auradon, princes who don’t have Jay’s name on their body, so she’ll just leave Ben to him and take her pick.

“Bring back a prince!” Her mother shouts at her as the limo pulls away. And she will, she hopes.

* * *

Ben is cute and sweet and she’s happy for Jay. The other princes...not so much. Evie isn’t attracted to any of them (isn’t even really attracted to _Ben_ ), but she has to marry one of them, so she examines them, takes note of their flaws and quirks and what qualities outweigh that - castle, land, wealth, she repeats like a mantra in her mind, even when a girl smiles at her and her heart flutters differently than any man has ever managed. Castle, land, wealth - well, don’t princesses have those things?

It becomes a game, trying to guess which of these beautiful girls is her soulmate - is it Lonnie, kind and spunky and determined? Is it Audrey, confident and stunning and popular? Is it Ally, ditzy and innocent and trusting? Is it Ruby, with her long, flowing hair, or her sister, Anxelin?

“Bring back a prince!” Her mother had shouted, bring back a prince and maybe I’ll treat you like a mother should treat her daughter. Bring back a prince and maybe I won’t regret that you weren’t a boy, a proper heir.

Castle, land, wealth - things that Evie doesn’t want.

* * *

She has an encounter after class, one day, where Audrey approaches her and is almost...sweet. Audrey asks how Evie is settling in, and if there’s anything Audrey can do, or if there’s any problems that they need to talk about. Evie is confused, but then it hits her - _welcoming committee_. Audrey can’t allow her own distaste for villains get in the way of professionalism, not when it would mean risking her own status in her club.

Evie offers a fake smile to hide her own hurt, not that she _cares_ how genuine Audrey is, and politely responds. Audrey almost seems earnest when she says that she would love to talk to Evie more, but Evie knows better, and declines.

Audrey is a good actress, she actually looks somewhat upset. Evie has to give her credit for that.

* * *

She settles on Chad Charming, because she knows she won’t love him, and that somehow makes it easier. Besides, son of Cinderella? Cinderella is an icon and Evie would keep this charade of a relationship going for ages to meet her. Chad is a dick, and he thinks he’s manipulating her - in a way he is, because even if she knows it, she does his homework and fakes a smile and she really can’t live the rest of her life like this.

She hates acting like a couple when they so clearly don’t fit, and she tells him that he isn’t her soulmark, like that will change anything.

“Oh, I know,” is his response, cocky and indifferent as ever, but she can sense a nervousness behind his words. “I figured so, because you aren’t mine.” But he doesn’t dump her, not then.

And that’s that. Evie keeps grinning and bearing it, because that’s what her mother would want, and she hates every second of it. She wonders what Chad’s mark says, what her mark says, and it drives her crazy.

 _A dream is a wish your heart makes_ , she thinks to herself, bitterly. _And I didn’t dream this_.

* * *

Evie helps Jay make a jacket for Ben because that’s about the cutest thing she’s ever heard, and Mal gets mad at her for it. She says that they can’t just act like Jay and Ben can be happy because they have a plan to pull off and Jay’s feelings are ruining everything. Evie tells Mal that she needs to lighten up, and Mal sulks until Jane comes over to hang out.

Evie rolls her eyes at the entire situation. Mal isn’t as indifferent to Auradon as she likes to pretend. She hopes Jane gives Mal an emotional crisis, for Mal’s own benefit, _honestly._

* * *

Chad rubs the spot on his right arm, right below his shoulder, when he’s nervous. Chad is nicer to Audrey then he is to Evie. Chad is pushing Evie to the breaking point, and she knows that she can’t do this with him, can’t do it with any man, and it was fine on the Isle where there wasn’t really a prince and it was all hypothetical but now that it’s here and she has it she hates it more then anything else.

And she’s crying in the bathroom one day, only because she couldn’t actually hold the tears long enough to take it anywhere else. Because she’s a _villain kid_ , she gets a lot of people who walk in, spot her, and walk right back out, and it doesn’t bother her, not right now, because she’s not going to cry in a stall but she also doesn’t want to cry in front of anyone else.

So when Audrey walks in and doesn’t leave, Evie desperately tries to stop her tears, to no avail. And Audrey says “oh, honey” softer than Evie has ever heard her say anything, and Audrey walks over, delicately, and places her hand cautiously on the small of Evie’s back, allows Evie to lean her head on Audrey’s shoulder. It’s kindness Audrey has never shown to her before, and it’s shocking. In that moment Evie _knows_ , knows like she knows the back of her hand or her face, knows because she feels like flowers grow from Audrey’s touch, knows because it’s exactly what she’s always wanted.

She comes so, so close to saying it, but she thinks about it, and thinks about it some more, and the butterflies in her stomach intensify more than she ever knew they could. She wants to do this right, she wants it to be romantic and candlelit and perfect. So she stays quiet, and when they part it’s awkward, but Evie has made up her mind - screw princes, so fucking much. Love is real and it’s worth more to her then castles or land or wealth will ever be.

* * *

Evie leaves jewelry for Audrey; a velvet pink choker, earrings shaped like roses, a bracelet that imitates the growth of a briar rose. Evie pours her heart and soul into finding out what Audrey likes, and she tries to get it for her - it’s the most she ever cared about the outcome of a romantic endeavor. She dumps Chad, quietly, doesn’t tell her friends, because she’s not ready to share this yet. She’s almost afraid that if she shares her feelings for Audrey, they’ll go away, and she’ll wake up with no true love and still be dating a prince.

And that’s unrealistic, but Evie’s never been scared like _this_ before, so she keeps giving anonymous gifts and tries to plan out the right time to tell Audrey.

* * *

Mal isn’t speaking to Jane, suddenly, and she won’t tell Evie why, but she still has to deal with it. Evie doesn’t know what happened, but Jane keeps coming over and trying to apologize for “whatever she did wrong”, so she doesn’t think Jane knows what happened, either. Evie keeps trying to talk to Mal about it, but Mal gets really defensive and closed off and scared, so she is gentler and less consistent with her questions, not that any of them get answered. Evie wishes Mal would let herself be happy, because if that’s possible anywhere, it’s here in Auradon.

* * *

Evie isn’t the biggest fan of tourney, but Jay is, so she goes to the games. Evie is, however, the biggest fan of cheerleading in the world, and she wonders if joining would be fun, once she’s dating Audrey. Audrey better let her - she is the captain, after all, and if her own girlfriend can’t get her into cheer, what’s the point?

Girlfriend. Gods, she thinks it like it’s a definite. Like it will absolutely, positively happen. And it will - she knows that soulmates are supposed to meet each other and love each other, no matter the odds, because that’s what happens in the stories. But...no, she can’t start doubting herself now, this is a non-issue and she’s not going to make it one.

Their team wins (of course) thanks to Jay and Carlos (of course) and she’s proud of them (of course). Enthusiasm permeates the stands, and people are ridiculously excited about the outcome, which Evie cannot relate to, but the energy is nice. It’s so nice that Jay and Ben enter what she recognizes as their first makeout session. She snorts. _Boys._

What isn’t so nice, though, is that less than 3 feet away from them are Chad and Audrey, having their own exchange of emotions. _Kissing_. Chad and Audrey. Chad. And. Audrey. Evie feels her heart stop, feels her posture stiffen, feels her fists clench and feels her body shaking. She feels anger in her stomach like it’s fighting to get out, and it is, she never expected that Chad would be able to ruin her life _after_ she stopped dating him. She had never hated a man so much as she does in this moment (maybe that’s a lie, she hates her father pretty damn much).

Jay and Carlos look over at her, expecting her to be heartbroken. And she is, really, but her anger overshadows it. They run over to her - her friends are so nice, she loves them - and Carlos is already saying something about how dumb boys are (he seems upset) and Jay says that he’ll beat up Chad (he seems pissed) and Evie is grateful but -

But she has to tell them.

“I _am_ mad,” she starts, and she knows that she’s still shaking, but she doesn’t cry, nor does she want to. “But, while my anger is directed _at_ Chad, it’s not him I’m mad about. Well, it is, but...” Her way with words is lost on her as she tries to phrase this. “I don’t love him, and I figure that I have a prin _cess_ on my back for a reason, right? No matter what Mom says. And I just, I just figured it might’ve been Audrey, is all.”

Jay offers a soft smile. “Well, if it is her, she’s dumb for even _looking_ at Chad. You’re way prettier. And nicer. Just, generally more intelligent, too.” He shrugs. “An all around improvement.”

“Yeah, who would look at _Chad_?” Carlos seconds. “I know you dated him, but Chad? Really?”

“She'll come around.” Jay promises.

Evie laughs, a little sadly, but it’s still a laugh. She glances over at Audrey, who is no longer eating Chad’s tonsils, but is looking back at her. Audrey looks lost, and Chad is saying something to her, but he looks over, too. Evie turns her head and ignores them.

* * *

Carlos comes back from the locker room crying, and it’s been a long time since she’s seen him cry, so she knows it’s major. But he won’t talk to _her_ about it, and he won’t talk to _Jay_ about it, and that hurts. She figures maybe he doesn’t want to stress them out, but he talks to Mal about it, maybe because he figured she wouldn’t tell them. She doesn’t know.

Mal suggests that maybe Carlos does have a mark. Evie wonders if that’s what making him so unhappy - she hopes he works it out. Soulmates seem to be more trouble than they’re worth, recently.

* * *

A day or so later, Carlos suddenly has a dog. Only in Auradon, _honestly._

* * *

Evie goes to Family Day for a few reasons.

1 - Princesses are going to be there. Like, the famous ones. The ones Evie’s always wanted to be like, or be with, or whatever. If Evie passes up Family Day, she’s never going to be able to ask Belle if she ever read all those books, or ask Cinderella if she still has the shoes, or ask Snow White if she feels bad about letting her evil-stepmom who tried to kill her raise Evie.

2 - Evie has had an outfit planned for a semi-formal occasion since they got here, and she hasn’t used it yet, but it looks so good that she can’t stand not wearing it any longer.

3 - Audrey is going to be there, and if there’s one thing Evie knows, it’s that she would probably go to Hell if Audrey said they should have tea with Hades. She hasn’t tried to talk to her, yet, but maybe she can catch her without Chad at the picnic.

Oh, and to support Jay, of course. Though, really, half of her actions are to support her friends, so it doesn’t even need to be clarified.

Family Day is nice, sort of. It’s very fancy, for a school picnic, which Evie appreciates immensely. Everything should be fancy, really. People keep giving her and Carlos and Jay looks, like they don’t belong, there, but shouldn’t their presence at a school event be calming? Mal didn’t come, but the guests still gossip about her, saying that she should’ve attended - it’s overwhelming, Evie has no idea what will please these people, and she suspects that nothing short of saving Ben’s life will do so.

Jay is overwhelmed by Ben’s parents, who, like the other guests, don’t trust him (Evie doesn’t think she particularly cares about Belle’s reading habits, now). Carlos keeps looking over his shoulder, and it’s really freaking her out. Audrey is - not with Chad, so that’s off to a great start. Will Audrey be mad if Evie approaches her now? Should Evie just wait? Maybe she should just wait. No, she should go, right?

“Hey, I’m gonna be over with Audrey.” Evie says to Carlos, before she can change her mind. Carlos shrugs, and shoves another chocolate covered strawberry in his mouth. Ugh, _boys_.

She strides over to Audrey, careful to appear confident and collected, and smiles at her. Audrey is wearing the earrings Evie made for her, which Evie hopes is a sign. Audrey smiles at Evie and introduces her grandmother (Leah - whose smile is more reserved, more hesitant, but it’s not outright refusal, so…), and then asks Evie if she would like to play croquet with them. Evie knows croquet, at least, because Cora (the only other _real_ princess on the Isle) had created a makeshift course with miscellaneous objects. Actual croquet is just like that, but fancier, right?

“So, Audrey, how’s Chad?” Evie asks. The mallet makes contact with the ball, _crack_ , and Evie understands why the Queen of Hearts played this all the time. It’s good for stress relief.

Audrey groans as her croquet ball is knocked out of position. “Ugh, he’s pining over someone right now. It’s insufferable.” She surveys the field, trying to figure out how to fix her game. “And he’s like my clingiest friend, so I have to hear about it.”

“Isn’t he your boyfriend? You were all over him at the last tourney game.” Evie smirks, to hide her own discomfort. Leah coughs, and Audrey blushes. “In a very reserved, respectful way, of course.” She adds. She doesn’t want to get Audrey in trouble.

Audrey is still blushing, but she shakes her head. “No, that was just the result of...well, he was trying to make someone jealous. I’ve known Chad for way too long to even consider actually dating him. Ugh, could you _imagine_?” She lines up her shot.

“I figured you were too smart for that.” Evie laughs, and immense relief spreads through her, even though Audrey just totally wrecked her croquet strategy. “As you know, I recently dumped him, and it was the best decision I’ve ever made.”

“He’s a good guy.” Audrey defends. “There’s just...a lot of layers of annoying that you have to get through.”

“Hmm. A _lot_.” Evie doesn’t doubt that, somewhere within Chad, is an alright person. But _she’s_ not going to be the one to deal with him long enough to find that aspect of his personality.

Audrey laughs, and it’s like...bells, or something, it’s super cute. Evie cannot deal with this. “Okay, enough about Chad, honestly. How have _you_ been?”

“Good! _Really_ ,” She stresses at Audrey’s disbelieving look. “I’ve been getting used to Auradon, it’s so gorgeous here. And I’ve really had an opportunity here to study up on things I’ve always been interested in. Like...fashion. Or science.”

“Well, I can’t say I know much about science,” Audrey giggles, giving Evie another round of butterflies in her stomach. “But I am something of a fashion icon here.”

“I can see why.” Evie replies, earnestly, because she really can - Evie isn’t one for pinks and greys and whites, but Audrey pulls it off. Evie thinks Audrey could probably pull anything off.

“We should get coffee sometime.” Audrey suggests, casually, like it’s not the very thing Evie has been stressing about for the past few days. “Talk about it.”

Evie feels a real, genuine smile grow on her face before she can stop it, though why would she want to? “Yeah, I’d like that.”

Evie and Audrey look at each other, croquet forgotten, and Leah lets out a soft chuckle. Time freezes for Evie, and it’s nice, but out of nowhere there’s shouting and they all turn to see Carlos and Chad fighting. Audrey sighs, and Evie bites her lip, hoping that this won’t cause too much trouble. _Boys_ , she chastises, but she knows it probably goes a little deeper then that.

* * *

Evie is asked by Jay to make a coronation outfit, which she is incredibly excited for, because she has literally been planning one since she heard about coronation. Then she figures that she should make him some sort of accessory, even though he didn’t ask, and she settles on bracelets to represent each of them because she knows they’ve all been a little stressed recently and Jay could use a reminder that they’re all in his corner. And Ben, who heard that she was designing Jay’s outfit, approaches her and asks if he could hire her to make a piece of jewelry for him to present to Jay. And she listens to his concepts, but she already knows what to do, and tells him that she’ll have it ready soon.

She’s busy enough already, but then it occurs to her that Mal probably hasn’t planned an outfit (besides, Evie wants to remind Mal that she isn’t alone), and if she’s going to make one for Mal she might as well make one for Carlos (who has been really stressed, recently, maybe this would cheer him up), and she still has to make one for herself while staying on top of her work and suddenly she’s really stressed.

So she texts Audrey, who is more then happy to help Evie out, who says that she would love to see Evie’s creative process. Evie tells Mal that Audrey is coming over, and Mal pretends to be annoyed, but Evie can see that she really isn’t.

Evie spends a lot of hours like this - discussing designs with Audrey, who is excited to share her ideas but also excited to follow Evie’s visions, who puts her hair into a ponytail when she’s thinking, who does homework with Evie and gossips about cheerleading and Chad’s emotional breakdowns while they’re sowing. It’s really perfect, Evie loves it, and she starts giving Audrey jewelry in person, because as she gets to know Audrey she gets more and more ideas.

The outfits are finished, much quicker than they would have been if Evie had to do it alone, and they’re stunning, she cannot wait for coronation. As long as Mal doesn’t go ahead with the “stealing the wand” thing, which Evie has been too afraid to talk to her about, in case the answer is something she won’t like. She really, _really_ hopes that Mal isn’t going to do anything - for all their sakes.

* * *

Before coronation, Evie has something very important to do. This is quite possibly going to be the most magical event she will attend in months, years - so she is not going to squander her fairy-tale opportunity here. She’s going to wear her fancy gown and she’s going to dance with her princess at the after party and that is that.

Except, first she has to let _Audrey_ know that. That’s pretty major. So she gathers her thoughts and her pride and meets Audrey once Audrey is done with cheerleading practice and tells her that she’s pretty sure they should be dating. And then she says that she doesn’t actually know what her soulmark says, but that she would be honored if Audrey checked for her. It’s a calculated risk, and Evie can hardly believe that she suggested it.

Audrey shakily reads her own name alone with Evie on the tourney field in front of the bleachers and she pulls down a sleeve to show Evie her own name written across Audrey’s shoulder.

It’s _perfect_.

* * *

Coronation is really incredible. There’s so much glitter Evie thinks that she might be dreaming, coupled with the facts that _her_ designs are being credited on TV and that she gets to dance with Audrey after all this. It’s like walking through one of her daydreams as a little kid, because a lot of this adds up. Besides the whole dating a princess thing, but this is totally preferable.

She sees Jay up on the carriage with Ben and it’s incredible. She’s so happy for her boy, she really is, because he deserves this. She doesn’t think Ben will hurt him, but if he does she will break his fucking neck, guards be damned. Not that it will come to that, hopefully.

When they’re inside, though, Evie becomes acutely aware of how tense Mal is beside her. That’s a bad sign, because that means Mal might go for the wand. She places a hand on Mal’s thigh, hoping that it’s comforting, and Mal is still tense, but she stops drumming her fingers against her chair. Good. Evie would hate to have to stop Mal from doing anything rash. Evie is almost confident that they can get through this whole thing without incident, but then _Jane grabs the wand._

Evie is honestly terrified. She doesn’t want to think that Mal is behind this, but who else? This would explain most of Jane’s behavior, most of Mal's behavior, and Evie is running through possible solutions in her head a mile a minute. Except...Jane clearly doesn’t know what she’s doing, and Mal’s plans don’t allow room for error unless someone goes off script. Jane is screaming and crying about wanting her happy ending, and Evie’s heart beats for the girl, because she gets it, but now is not the time.

And then Mal is no longer beside her, but up there with Jane, saying something sappy and heartfelt and _raw_ , realer than Mal has ever been in private, much less in public. This isn’t a scheme. This can’t be, even if the tension in the room suggests that many think otherwise. Evie watches in shock as Mal talks Jane down and acquires the wand, and her breath catches in her throat, because it might not have been a scheme but Mal is nothing if not desperate for her mother’s approval. Because -

Maleficent is there and Evie knows in her heart that if it was her mom standing there, she would hand over the wand. She wouldn’t blame Mal for doing the same. Except, Mal stands her ground, and Jay is there with her, and she looks at Carlos and he nods at her and she knows that they have to go protect Mal, their _friend_ , and Evie doesn’t even think twice before she runs up there to join them. She holds Mal’s hand while Mal tells off her mother and Evie is so immensely amazed at Mal, who contains multitudes of power and emotions even if she’s afraid to show them. She is so, so lucky to be Mal’s friend, and she is so, so lucky to be friends with them all, with this incredible squad of kids fucked up by their parents, because she knows they will never abandon each other. Maleficent turns into a lizard, of all things, and Evie is impressed. She’s _got_ to ask what Mal did, later.

Jay pulls them all into a bearhug and Evie is pretty sure her makeup is going to be ruined but it doesn’t matter. She hugs her friends back, listens to their heartbeats - just as fast and panicked as her own, but it’s okay, they’re okay, they’re safe here and Auradon is everything Evie has ever wanted for herself and for her friends. She’s never been happier then in this moment, and she fully expects moments just like this for the rest of her life, because she can have that now. It’s heartstopping, it’s mind blowing, but it’s reality, now. They laugh and break apart, but Evie feels like they’re closer than ever.

She runs over to Audrey and has her first fairytale kiss. Like, she’s always sort of laughed at the concept of princesses marrying princes after one encounter, always figured they were after power like her mother was, but she could really get the appeal if they felt like she did right now. (Realistically, she knows that it’s more then that, it’s how Audrey is soft around Evie and helpful and confident and so, so much more, but either way, she almost doesn’t want to move from this spot). Audrey laughs and rubs a tear off of Evie’s face, smearing her makeup even more, not that it even remotely matters anymore. Evie had never imagined she could be this happy in her whole entire life, but she deserves it, and Audrey does too, and, well, quite honestly? Who needs Prince Charming? Evie doesn't, that's for sure, she never has. Audrey is more then enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next - it's not enough, not enough - Carlos  
> SONG: Now I Know - July Talk
> 
> @ feltgoodinc on tumblr / this is not crossposted on ffn
> 
> I really didn't like this chapter for a long time, i.e. why it took so long, but about halfway it clicked and I rewrote portions and wrote the second half and I adored it. BTW, after coronation, Evie starts wearing backless dresses and Audrey starts wearing sleeveless shirts because they want to show off their marks.
> 
> Carlos' chapter might take a bit longer, too, but I'm excited for it.


	4. it's not enough, not enough - Carlos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carlos, for as long as he's had his soulmark, has pretended not to have 'Chad Anastasius Charming' written on his shoulder.

Carlos hates his soulmate before he even meets him. Most kids on the isle do - kids who are unlucky enough to get someone who lives in Auradon, the unobtainable promised land that they are never meant to touch.

He gets some small satisfaction thinking of the matching _'Carlos Oscar de Vil'_ that is scrawled onto his soulmate's skin, feeling a little better when he remembers that his soulmate can't have him, either. But it's fleeting, because surely, if he was important enough to this stranger, he wouldn't still be on the damn isle.

God, fuck _Chad Anastasius Charming._ Even his name was stupid. Just a stupid asshole who didn't care enough to get the potential love of his life off the Isle. Fuck that noise. Not worth Carlos’ tears, or thoughts.

Wasn’t Prince Charming supposed to rescue his true love? Why was Carlos still here?

* * *

Unlike Jay, who had nervously showed his friends his soulmark a few days after he’d gotten it (who had a name that belonged to the future king, holy shit, their parents better not find out), Carlos kept his mark a secret. What was the point? It wouldn’t get him off the Isle, and the only immediate effect it would cause would be pity. He keeps it quiet, and fakes nervousness when the subject comes up, and subtly convinces his friends that he doesn’t have a mark. Just another tragedy in his tragic life. The lie fits like a glove that he doesn’t ever want to take off.

So he wears long sleeved shirts and jackets and covers the name on his shoulder like it doesn’t exist, because it might as well not.

* * *

When Carlos hears that they get to go to Auradon, he is excited, despite the anger he still feels. He’s a little pissed at the reasoning, because he had never given up hope that maybe Chad, whoever he was, would somehow rescue him, but he’s happy for Jay. Jay, who acts like he’s not more excited to go to Auradon then he has been for anything else in his life.

Carlos nods with the others when their parents tell them to steal the wand. He doesn’t think it will end up happening, anyway, because once Jay has his mind on something, he doesn’t quit, and Jay has his mind set on Ben.

* * *

Auradon is unfairly beautiful. It’s bright and sparkling and everything Carlos had desperately imagined in the middle of the night when he couldn’t sleep. He loves it. He hates it. He wants to give the wand to Maleficent and watch her destroy this place, he wants to make sure another villain never steps foot inside its borders.

He can’t focus when Ben welcomes them. He zones out, eyes darting at the scenery surrounding them, at the people who are chatting. Realistically, one of those people could be Chad. Carlos really, really hopes that Chad goes to a different school.

* * *

Carlos hates tourney. He did enough running away from other people on the Isle, thanks, no need to do it for fun. He doesn’t get the rules and he doesn’t get the point and he certainly doesn’t get the ugly uniforms.

He also doesn’t get _Chad Anastasius Charming_ , in any sense of the word, when he finally meets him during tourney practice. Carlos is excited for a fraction of a second, because Chad is kinda hot, but the excitement fades almost immediately, because Chad might not have been able to get Carlos off the Isle, but he could’ve sought him out at school, could’ve said something before now. Chad is loud and harsh and he looks at everyone like they are dirt beneath his feet, and Carlos hates him with a new, reignited passion. When Chad brushes past him, their shoulders knocking, Carlos’ mark _burns_ and he grits his teeth and spends the rest of the practice in a terrible mood.

He wants to quit tourney as soon as he can, but Fairy Godmother wants them all to do at least one activity and at least Jay is in this one. He hopes he never has to talk to Chad again.

Chad is assigned to work with Carlos on tourney, and Carlos curses every god he knows.

* * *

The session is _awful._ Carlos could honestly care less if he’s good at tourney, so he decides to be as bad as he possibly can during the hour. It’s petty and inefficient, but it annoys Chad, so the pros outweigh the cons.

Chad isn’t as rude here as he was during practice, but that just makes Carlos angrier, because his soulmate is a fake ass prick. Chad asks a lot of intrusive and personal questions, and Carlos fumes at how invasive and unwilling to take a hint he is. Chad, like he already knows the answer, like it's a joke, asks if there's any postage on the Isle, and Carlos wants to kill him. Chad asks Carlos, almost nervously, if he has a soulmark, and Carlos’ heart speeds up - not out of excitement, not out of joy, but out of pure hatred. Chad’s gonna ask him this now? Chad, who doesn’t talk to Carlos during school, who didn’t even _volunteer_ to help Carlos with tourney, who is rude to Mal and Evie and Jay?

He doesn’t think twice before he answers with the lie he's told his whole life. “I’m unmarked, actually.” He spits out every word like that will make him feel better. “Because who could love a _villain kid_ , right?” There’s an unpleasant joy in using Chad’s words against him, in watching Chad’s confident smirk falter, if only for a second.

“Oh.” Chad says. He’s silent, and Carlos doesn’t regret it at all, even if he might have just sabotaged the relationship that is technically supposed to make him the happiest. “Well. Um, I’m gonna ask Coach if I can help you out some more, because you need _way_ more help. No offense.”

“No thanks.” Carlos gives a grin as fake as Chad’s personality, and checks his watch - the hour is up. He storms away and doesn’t look back.

* * *

Ben and Jay are in love, and Carlos is happy for them. He thinks it’s romantic, everything a soulmark should lead to, and Evie agrees. Mal isn’t as pleased, still desperate to impress her mother, but she lays off, because she’s taken the evil plot into her own hands. Carlos wishes she would give it up, honestly, stressing like this cannot be good for her.

Ben and Jay are in love, but Evie and Mal, like Carlos, are ignoring their marks. Mal is talking to Jane, sure, to try and get the wand. Evie, to his knowledge, hasn’t looked at her mark _ever_ , not since her mother told her it hadn’t mattered.

“I’ve been thinking about dating Chad.” Evie hums, and for a second it’s like Carlos’ world stops, he forgets and remembers how to breathe in a moment. But he presses on.

“You should.” He responds, trying to sound as indifferent as possible. “If you can deal with him. He had to help me with tourney, and it was the worst hour of my life.” And that isn’t a lie, exactly, but Carlos hates how wrong it tastes, and he feels an inkling of regret.

* * *

Chad and Evie start dating very quickly following that conversation, which, much like everything else has recently, pisses Carlos off. He can’t even be happy for them, because Chad is using Evie and it’s so, _so_ obvious, and there’s no way that Carlos and Chad are supposed to end up together. Because Chad, well, Chad is everything Carlos hates.

Jay is off hanging out with Ben and Evie is off doing Chad’s homework and Mal is off some evil nonsense. And Carlos is alone. His friends probably feel bad, but they also figured that Carlos had been preparing for this his entire life. They had no idea that, in between despising _Chad Anastasius Charming,_ Carlos was hoping that maybe, somehow, he would get off the Isle and fall in love with _Chad Anastasius Charming_.

Just one of his dreams. A dream that is crushed now, crushed by the reality of Chad the Asshole, Chad the Manipulative Dick, Chad the Bully. Evie deserves better, she really does, but he knows that she’ll probably take his opinion with a grain of salt, and think that he’s just jealous.

* * *

Ben and Jay are in love, and Jay approaches Carlos one day and asks, casually, if Carlos can teach him how to put patches on clothes. Carlos, consumed by free time, offers to patch it himself, but Jay is very insistent about doing it himself. So Carlos shrugs and teaches him, confused and proud at the same time.

Ben and Jay are in love, and a few days later Ben starts walking around campus wearing a leather jacket with a royal crest patch. Carlos smiles to himself. Oh, he thinks. _Oh_.

* * *

Carlos gets better at tourney, _without_ Chad’s help, because he has nothing better to do. He still doesn’t understand why it makes Jay so happy, but he starts getting the thrill of a successful goal or pass or whatever and it feels way better then angsting over his whole life. Chad stares at him, sometimes, and Carlos gets _immense_ satisfaction over ignoring him, both in-game and out. Okay, sometimes that screws up the play, but _damn_ it’s worth it.

When Carlos and Jay win the final game (Jay says it’s a team effort but Carlos thinks that it’s just them), and Carlos is surprisingly proud of them. And when Ben and Jay kiss, right in front of everyone, Carlos is unsurprisingly proud of them. And when Chad and Audrey kiss, too, Carlos feels his heart sink to the ground and he doesn’t know why. Logically, he has no reason to be upset - but, emotionally, he is.

He glances at Evie, because as upset as he might be, he’s sure she’s feeling worse, and she looks pissed. Good, they can vent to each other later. He grits his teeth and follows Jay up to comfort her - Mal didn’t come, she never comes to tourney.

* * *

Carlos usually changes after everyone else, because he doesn’t bother concealing the mark on his arm. Chad has fucking _huge_ handwriting, and the length of the name itself doesn’t help, so Carlos has resigned himself to long sleeves for life and stalling for 30 minutes after practice until everyone else is done. Maybe he’ll get a tattoo, he ponders, that would be easier.

He’s still pissed at Chad, mostly on Evie’s behalf, now, and he’s dedicating too much of his energy into being angry to focus on the environment around him, to notice the footsteps that aren't his entering the lockers. It's probably the most out of it he's been in a while, because he doesn't notice Chad until Chad is right in front of him, doesn't notice Chad until after Chad has noticed the name, _his name_ , which permanently resides on Carlos’ shoulder.

Carlos is pretty sure he's had nightmares about this, right in between the ones he has about getting sent back to the Isle and the ones he has about dying alone. “What the fuck are you doing here?” He panics, because aggression, when in doubt, is the best reaction 85% of the time.

“That's my name.” Chad responds, which isn't an answer, but it's hopeful and confused and a million other things Carlos can’t and won’t and doesn’t think about. “You have my name. On your shoulder.”

“Yeah, I fucking know that,” Carlos huffs, and he doesn't know how to deal with this, usually dream-Chad beats him up or something. Dream-Chad, unlike real Chad, is very predictable. “It's on _my_ body.”

“Why didn't you _tell_ me?” Chad asked, and okay, Carlos can sense a hint of anger in that, but Chad is giving him this look like Carlos broke his heart and he has _no right_ to be looking like that.

“Aren't you dating Audrey? And weren't you dating Evie literally right as you started dating Audrey?” He glares at Chad, quickly putting his shirt on so Chad will stop _looking_ at him. “Evie's really pissed.” He adds, for good measure. Chad has the basic human decency to look guilty, but Carlos isn't going to give him props for that.

“I'm not dating Audrey, she just wanted me to do that to make...someone jealous,” Chad desperately says, words falling out of his mouth, and Carlos can't decide if he believes him. “And Evie already dumped me, but still, it's not like we had anything special - you're my soulmate, Carlos, it's different, I just - I thought it was just me, why didn't you _say_ anything?”

Carlos is literally shaking with rage, he cannot believe that this is what his day has come to. He can't put together a long enough response, can't accurately summarize all the things that are wrong with what Chad is saying. He wings it. “You can't say that you get to treat Evie poorly because you aren't _soulmates._ Besides the... _grotesque_ fact that you couldn't bring yourself to be kind to a girl who was working her brains out for you, what the fuck do you think that says to me? That I'm only different because some words tell you so?” Carlos is so close to crying, but he isn't going to show that weakness to this boy, who doesn't deserve to see him that vulnerable. “Maybe I didn't tell you because I saw how you treated other people, treated my _friends_ , and I think I made a good fucking choice! We might be soulmates, but that doesn't mean I'm obligated to love you unconditionally before we even know each other.”

He doesn't give Chad the opportunity to respond, grabbing the rest of his things and storming out, still shaking.

* * *

Despite himself, he ends up crying back in his dorm room. Evie and Jay are concerned, which is sweet, but he super doesn’t want to talk about this entire situation, because he’s been hiding this for his whole life and he feels like it’s too late to come back now. To even explain his motivation would be an hour of backtracking and exposure of emotionally motivated decisions that Carlos isn’t too proud of. And, to be fair, he’s upset about a lot of things, not just Chad, so really it’s best if he works this out himself.

He kicks Jay out of their room when he and Evie start asking questions, and he figures that Mal won’t come by, because she’s been busy as hell lately, so he lets himself break down. Auradon was supposed to be an _escape_ , where he didn’t have to worry about his feelings or being lonely or not being lonely or anything. He fucking hates it, but he hates the Isle more, and it’s too damn conflicting to think about so he tries to stop crying and tries to stop thinking and neither of those things happen.

He’s in the middle of some deep breathing exercises when Mal walks in, arms crossed and eyebrows raised. Fuck. She remains standing, and Carlos prepares himself for the intervention that’s probably about to happen.

“Jay and Evie tell me you’re upset.” She says, not bothering to phrase it as a question. Carlos shrugs, not that it will deter her. “ _Carlos._ ” She adds, as a warning. He sighs - Mal is impossible to evade.

“It’s not a big deal. Everything’s just so different here.” He starts, debating how much he should say, how much is enough to get her to leave him alone. She gestures for him to continue. Ugh. “Mal, I know Evie and Jay put you up to this. You super don’t have to talk to me about this.”

She rolls her eyes. “We’re a team. When you guys finally come to your senses and start helping me with the wand, we aren’t going to be functioning very well if some of us are having emotional breakdowns. It’s my job as the leader to prevent that.” Her eyes soften for a second, but she quickly covers it up. “And no one wants you to be upset, Carlos.”

He puts his face in his hands and groans, half in an attempt to stall, but there’s no way out of this. He looks back up at her, she looks a little impatient, but he knows she won’t leave. “I’ve just been, like, really stressed recently. It’s like, Jay and Evie are fitting in pretty well here, and you don’t care if anyone here likes you, and I don’t have anything here.” He laughs, bitterly, already doubting his words. “Okay, that sounds overdramatic. It super doesn’t matter, like not at all, we’re all stressed.” He forces a smile onto his face. “That really helped! I feel much better now!”

_“Carlos!”_

“I don’t know what you want me to say! Or what _you’re_ planning on saying, you hate this touchy-feely shit!” He retorts, and Mal shifts uncomfortably. Ha. “Just, I don’t know, everything’s been a million times worse because I have to deal with this on top of the fact that I literally hate my soulm-” _wait fuck nope wait._ He stiffens, but he can’t take back the words, why doesn’t he ever think before he speaks? Mal looks incredibly interested all of a sudden, and Carlos stands up. “Y’know what, thanks for listening, but I really need to be alone right now.”

Mal, to her credit, listens, but if she tells Jay or Evie and they bug him he’s going to have a migraine and maybe a near death experience. Actually, definitely both. Possibly at the same time.

* * *

Evie and Jay do try to talk to him about it (Mal is eerily silent, but he’s still mad that she told) except Carlos is a master at changing topics, so they don’t get any information out of him. He is totally not fucking _that_ up again.

But the thing is, he kinda does need someone to talk to about Chad, who is not currently speaking to Carlos. Carlos _hopes_ Chad is reflecting on his actions, though he figures that’s probably unlikely. But then Chad starts talking to Carlos again, and it’s weird. Like, weird in a very transparent, “let’s be friends and then we can date” way, where he doesn’t actively acknowledge what Carlos screamed at him in the locker room, but offers to carry Carlos’ books in between class and tries to convince Coach to put Carlos in games and starts conversations with Carlos like Carlos cares what Chad has to say. The attention is a little nice, but it’s also uncalled for, and Chad has yet to apologize to Jay or Evie or Mal for being a total dick, so Carlos stays resentful. Who does Chad think he _is_?

 _He thinks he’s Prince Charming_ , Carlos comes to realize, and he can’t even be mad about that because Chad is _literally_ a Prince Charming. That makes him feel...something, that’s for sure. A mixture of annoyed, and...well, he’s annoyed, and identifying one emotion is tough enough, so he’ll leave it there.

Carlos doesn’t tell Chad to stop talking to him, though, because everyone else is so busy and Carlos is pretty sick of being alone.

He’s just glad that Evie is busy pining over Audrey, honestly, because if Evie got wind of _Chad Anastasius Charming_ following Carlos around school because Carlos is too pathetically attention deprived to tell him to stop, she would literally never let him live it down. Not that _she_ can say anything - Carlos is 100% sure that all of Audrey’s new jewelry is from Evie.

But Chad still tries to carry Carlos’ books and Carlos still lets him, justifying it as a small revenge, even though he knows Chad interprets it as an offer of peace. It’s a charade that only Carlos is aware of, and he’s is constantly disappointed that he isn’t able to stop it.

* * *

The worst moment of all this, arguably, is when Chad tells Carlos about The Dog.

Yeah. The Dog. Chad gets him a _dog_ , and Carlos, for the life of him, cannot fathom why this is a good idea, or even an idea that crossed Chad’s mind, because Carlos is fucking _terrified_ of dogs. So Chad comes up to him and presents him with a puppy, Carlos jumps back on instinct, fearing for his fucking life, and Chad is somehow confused, and worried, and -

Oh. Chad doesn’t _know_. But that doesn’t make the gesture any better, doesn’t make Carlos flinch away any less, because they don’t know each other at all, and their lack of actual personal knowledge has manifested as the four-legged, ferocious, slobbering beast in front of him.

Carlos is almost embarrassed when he shakily tells Chad that he’s not going anywhere near that killer, but ultimately his self-preservation is much more important than what _Chad Anastasius Charming_ thinks of him. Chad frowns, but it’s not judgemental or anything (it probably secretly is, Carlos reminds himself), and he says something about only guard dogs being vicious, but that he can hold onto The Dog for now, if Carlos wants. Carlos doesn’t want anything to do with The Dog, so that’s fine with him.

So Carlos turns to leave, but before he can go, Chad says something really dumb, something like “I won’t let you get hurt,” and Carlos instantly can think of a million responses to contradict that statement. He raises his eyebrows, though Chad doesn’t take it as harshly as Carlos intended him to, he just holds out The Dog, and, _fuck_ , Chad must think Carlos is pathetic. And it’s not like Carlos cares about his opinion or anything, but he is not going to stand there and let his reputation be destroyed like this. He marches over there without thinking twice and grabs The Dog, praying that he can kill it quickly if it moves to attack him.

Nothing bad happens. Carlos can hear his own heartbeat. He waits. Nothing bad happens, and the dog licks him, and Chad laughs, and it doesn’t sound mocking (but it probably is, Carlos reminds himself). Carlos flushes and tells Chad that he’ll keep the dog, but Chad has to pay for food and stuff, which Chad readily agrees to.

_Fuck._

* * *

Carlos goes to Family Day, against his own better judgment. He should follow Mal’s lead, he really should, but Evie wants to go and Carlos was planning to hang out with her anyway, so he figures he might as well go. He hates it, so so much - the only good thing is the food, and even _that_ is pretty hard to enjoy when there’s royalty scowling at you a table away. Carlos sticks out his tongue at one of the girls at the table next to them, and she turns up her nose and looks away. Evie hits him on the shoulder and tells him to stop _doing_ that, but he’s totally not gonna stop, and she knows it.

He’s in the process of trying to fit as many strawberries in his mouth as he can when Evie announces that she’s going to chat with Audrey. He nods, because he can’t really form words, and she rolls her eyes. Jay is still off jumping through hoops to try and get Belle and Adam’s approval, so Carlos has the table to himself.

For, like, 3 seconds, because _Chad Anastasius Charming_ is suddenly sidling up to Carlos like he owns the damn table. Asshole. He grins (probably ingenuine, Carlos reminds himself) at Carlos and sits down and if Carlos wasn’t such a professional he probably would have choked on the five strawberries currently in his mouth.

But Carlos is very professional, so instead he tells Chad to fuck off, and swallows a strawberry for emphasis. Chad wrinkles his nose, and tells Carlos to chew his food, and then he says that he wants Carlos to meet his parents.

Carlos, professionalism be damned, _does_ choke on the strawberries at that point. He forces himself to swallow them, he’s _not_ about to ruin his image by coughing up strawberries at a school picnic. Chad looks concerned and confused, like he didn’t just propose the most nonsensical thing Carlos has ever heard.

“Why would I meet your _parents_?” Carlos hisses. “We don’t even _like_ each other.”

Chad shifts, uncomfortably, and rubs his arm. “I thought we did.” He says, slowly, and Carlos is _not_ gonna get schmoozed by that tone of voice, no chance in _hell_. “We aren’t fighting, did I do something wrong?”

Carlos’ heart jumps into his throat. “Do you think we’re dating? Because we aren’t. You have to ask someone first, and generally you’re supposed to know things about them when you do that.” He says this lightly, almost like a joke, but there’s venom beneath his words, and it’s evident that Chad senses this.

“Well, whose fault is that?” Chad responds, bitterly, and if Carlos wasn’t mad before, he definitely is now.

He doesn’t miss a beat. “Yours.” Chad has the audacity to look confused at that, and Carlos cannot believe he has to spell this out. “I mean, I get that you couldn’t exactly send me any e-mails when I spent the first 15 years of my life on a prison Isle, but some interest when I got to Auradon might have been nice.”

“That’s unfair, considering I _did_ contact you.” Chad frowns.

“Yeah, tourney practice doesn’t exactly count.”

“Oh, fuck off.” Chad huffs. “I might have missed a year or two because I was freaking out about being soulmates with a villain kid, but you can’t sit there and pretend that I wasn’t sending you fucking letters. You’re the one who wouldn’t _respond_.”

Carlos raises his eyebrows, wondering if this boy is gonna try to revise fucking history with his lies. “You can’t lie about sending me letters when I’ve never received a letter in my entire life.” He snarls his response through clenched teeth, livid. “You think there’s a postal system for Auradonians on the Isle? And even if there was, you think I would’ve been able to write back?”

“That’s why I didn’t mention it! I figured you weren’t _able_ to respond, and when you _got_ here and _ignored_ me I realized that you didn’t want anything to do with me!”

“Right, go ahead and guilt trip me over this, that’s fine.” Carlos says, honestly unsure if he’s about to laugh or cry. “I would love to hear more about these fantasy letters. Please, enlighten me. How did you send them?”

“Dad told me he’d be able to get them over there, I never asked how he did it.” Chad looks hurt, and Carlos can’t pinpoint how genuine this is, so he goes ahead and assumes that it’s not real at all, because why would it be?

“Listen, I get that you feel like you have to be nice to me because of our situation, but I honestly could care less if you dropped me, as it is becoming incredibly apparent that we have no chance of a successful relationship. I would actually love that, if you just stopped talking to me.” The words hurt as he’s saying them, but there’s really no reason that they should be together, not when Carlos has already convinced himself that Chad is running some elaborate long-con that he wants no part in.

Chad’s demeanor changes in a second, and he looks panicked and desperate (not real, Carlos reminds himself) and Chad starts saying that he doesn’t want that, that’s unfair, they just need to talk about this, and Carlos responds that he would rather Chad never talked to him again.

Carlos doesn’t realize that they’re both standing up and shouting this at each other until Ben and Jay run over to “separate” them, even though they weren’t going to do any physical fighting, even though this fight is purely an emotional whirlwind - but this is about more than what they’re screaming - this is the accumulation of Carlos’ insecurity and Chad’s indefinable personality, the crescendo of years of wishing to be rescued while knowing it was unlikely, the result of a mother who reminded her son that he was unlovable every day of his life.

The exit from Family Day is a walk of shame, and Carlos doesn’t know how much everyone else actually caught of their conversation, because he himself doesn’t know when they started speaking in raised voices instead of hushed tones, but he can feel the heroes judging him as they leave. It’s humiliating, knowing that everyone is thinking that they were right about them, about him.

“Chad will come around.” Ben tells him, in some semblance of damage control, and Carlos thinks, for the first time, that maybe Chad isn’t the one with the problem.

* * *

After Family Day, Chad stops talking to Carlos. For a bit, Carlos thinks it’s because Chad doesn’t _want_ to talk to him, but he still catches Chad staring at him in classes and in the halls, so it’s not that. He asks Ben about it, as casually as he can, and learns that Chad stopped talking because Carlos _asked_ him to. Oh.

He feels like garbage. With coronation approaching, everyone is so busy. Evie and Audrey are busy making everyone’s outfits, and while Carlos stops in sometimes, they’re in their own world. Jay is constantly anxious, and Carlos doesn’t know who is more worried, Jay or Ben. Mal is still trying to desperately pull together some skeleton of an evil plan, and Carlos indulges her sometimes, but it stresses him out. The point being - everyone is so busy, and Carlos isn’t, and he doesn’t have anyone to be busy with. He wishes he hadn’t been so suspicious of Chad, hadn’t been so insecure, hadn’t lied about not having a soulmark. There’s a lot of regret, and he has no idea who he’s supposed to express it to, so he stays quiet.

* * *

Chad does talk to Carlos once, after Family Day - he approaches Carlos in the library, and Carlos is, for a split second, the most excited he’s been in living memory. Except Chad doesn’t look happy, not by a long shot, he looks tired and nervous and unconfident, the opposite of the Chad that Carlos met for the first time during tourney practice. It’s unsettling.

“Hey, I know that you don’t want me to talk to you, but I want to clarify, about the letters.” Chad starts, and Carlos stays quiet, something that is typically very hard for him. “I, um. I talked to my dad about it, and he said that he never actually got the letters over to the Isle. I’m actually, uh, really mad at him right now. Not that I expect you to care,” He hurriedly adds, and Carlos isn’t sure what heartbreak feels like, but he’s pretty sure it’s somewhere near the sudden pain he gets in his chest at how _hesitant_ Chad is.

“Listen, Chad-”

“Before you, like, tell me that you wouldn’t have been able to respond anyway, I was thinking about that too. You would’ve just had letters about _me_ , and I wouldn’t have known anything about you, and that’s really messed up, too. I should’ve thought about it...better.” Chad lets out a self-deprecating laugh that Carlos recognizes all too well. “So, yeah, sorry about all that.”

Carlos wants to tell him that it’s okay, and that he’s sorry too, but what really happens is he opens his mouth and doesn’t say anything, can’t get the words out. Chad gives a solemn grin and walks away, and Carlos is left wondering why this is messing him up so bad, and how he can fix it.

* * *

Carlos really had to hand it to Evie, she _knows_ how to dress people. He’s absolutely amazed by the fact that she not only made herself look good, but ensured that her friends would be stunning, too.

Oh, and the rest of coronation is nice too, he guesses. A little over the top, but Jay loves it, and Jay could normally care less about fancy things, so Carlos keeps his mouth shut.

He _tries_ to pay attention during Ben’s crowning, he really does, but there’s a lot of royal jargon, and, frankly, it’s boring. He would whisper as much to Evie, but he looks over at her and she’s a little teary-eyed, so he doesn’t for fear of her killing him. Instead, and he is already calling himself pathetic before he even goes through with it, he stares at Chad from across the room. _This is so dumb, you’re such a loser_ , he berates himself, but he doesn’t stop. Chad, despite the not-talking-to-Carlos thing, looks excited, looks proud of Ben, looks a _little_ jealous. And, as usual, looks unfairly attractive.

However, Carlos is not so lost in his own thoughts that he isn’t jolted back to reality when Jane grabs the wand, and he has to hand it to Mal - if she had been planning _this_ the whole time, she was truly the evil genius her mom raised her to be. Except, he looks over at Mal, and she looks _scared_ , truly frightened, and it’s something he has never seen on her before. He has no idea what to do, because he doesn’t know magic and he doesn’t know Jane, and before he can ask what they should do, Mal has stood up and raced over to Jane with more certainty then she’s done anything since they’ve gotten here. He swallows, hard, and hopes that she can do something before something happens to the barrier, breathes a sigh of relief when Mal has the wand, believes that she won’t do anything evil with it -

And then Maleficent is there. Maleficent, who had already been terrifying back when she had no magic but still power, who now has magic, something Carlos has never bothered to research, something Carlos barely understands. He freezes, hoping that if he doesn’t move maybe she’ll ignore him, but she could care less about what he’s doing - her attention is directed entirely at Mal. Mal is _trembling_ , even as Jay runs over to protect her, and Carlos looks over at Evie and knows that if they don’t do this, if they don’t help Mal, she might not pull through.

So Carlos does what he considers to be one of the bravest acts of his life, and stands with Mal, stands with Mal as she delivers a surprisingly powerful insight on love, stands with Mal as her mother lunges at them and Carlos’ life flashes before his eyes. Stands with Mal, and is glad he did, because she _does it_ , she wins, and Carlos is content to leave it there.

Jay pulls them all into a hug, and Carlos receives more human contact in that minute then he has for a while. Why weren’t they talking, again? Why was he afraid to reach out? It all seems so stupid now, because he’s known these people forever, they’re family to him, they’re a reminder that he can and should be loved, a reminder not to hate himself, not to believe that others hate him. He doesn’t want to let go, but it has to end sometime, right? It’s bittersweet but the sweet is in knowing that he has these people to go to, and that he should never forget it.

And when they let go - maybe Mal inspired him, maybe it’s the fact that Evie and Jay are kissing their respective partners, but Carlos is confident in himself for long enough to approach Chad, confident enough to cross his arms and stand there and say -

“Chad Anastasius Charming, will you do me the honor of giving this romance thing a shot?”

At which Chad blushes (definitely real, it’s a good look on him) and complains that he totally forgot that Carlos would know his full name, and says _yes, of course_ , still blushing, still doing things to Carlos’ heart. And, well, maybe Chad wasn’t able to rescue him from the Isle, but Carlos is done denying himself happiness, done denying Chad this happiness, not when he knows they’ve both wanted it for so long. Besides, Carlos has sort of always wanted a Prince Charming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SONG: Now I Know - July Talk  
> @ feltgoodinc on tumblr / this is not crossposted on ffn
> 
> Wow. This...is the first chapter fanfiction I've ever finished. I love this story so, so much and I'm really glad that people read it, considering it was just a bunch of rarepairs. Overall, I am incredibly proud of this and I love y'all so much for giving it a shot. I have a lot of feelings about this, so literally if there's any questions please ask because chances are there is likely an answer. Really, any thoughts on this fic are appreciated lol.


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